Image Credit- AFP
India would not think twice to launch a three-spinner,
two-seamer attack if necessary, especially while they wait for Hardik Pandya to
return. On the eve of India’s seventh World Cup match, captain Rohit Sharma
made the following statement. The Indians had only ever played an XI that
included all three of Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, and R Ashwin—that was
against Australia in Chennai.
However, India managed to keep Ashwin out of the team
in their most recent match, which took place on what was always predicted to be
a spin-friendly surface in Lucknow, choosing instead to start Mohammed Shami,
Mohammed Siraj, and Jasprit Bumrah in the XI.
“All sorts of combination are possible,”
Rohit said. “We can still play three spinners and two seamers if need be.
In this tournament you’ve seen that spinners are actually the ones stopping
that run flow in the middle overs. I’m keeping my options open whether we have
Hardik or not. If the situation demands we play three spinners, we will play
three spinners. A lot of skillsets can put a brake on the scoring rate in the
middle overs. Our spinners have got so much skill in these conditions.”
In this World Cup, spinners have done a somewhat
better job of controlling the score between overs 15 and 40 so far. Spinners
have scored 5.23 runs per over throughout this time, while seam bowlers have
given up 5.97 runs per over. However, seam bowlers have been a bit more
effective throughout these overs; their average through this time has been
35.69, while spinners’ average is also 35.69.
“As far as resting for the bowlers is concerned,
they are in great rhythm at this point in time,” Rohit said. “They
don’t want to rest. Their bodies are fine. This is the feedback that I’ve got
from all the bowlers. They are happy to play games.”
This is true even though India has travelled a
considerable distance throughout this campaign. After visiting Guwahati and
Thiruvananthapuram, which are essentially at opposite ends of the nation, for
practise matches, India has also visited Delhi, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Pune,
Dharamsala, Lucknow, and is currently in Mumbai. They go farther than any other
team in the competition, by a considerable margin. But, Rohit noted, that is
only a portion of the work.